As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is an information handling system (IHS). An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for such systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Furthermore, many peripheral devices, such as mice, keyboards, cellular devices, and/or the like, have been created to interact with IHSs. Typically, such a peripheral device must be configured with the IHS with specific configuration data to function appropriately as intended. For example, different mice from different manufacturers may require different drivers to function properly with an IHS running a Windows operating system (OS). Furthermore, mice of the same manufacturer but of different models may also require different configuration data. Similar situations may also exist for any other type of peripheral device.
Therefore, a user is often required to search for the correct configuration data and install it onto the IHS. Such a process can imply having to manage through various installation wizards, knowing specific properties of the peripheral device, loading the correct software, and/or the like. The process of searching for the appropriate configuration data can be time consuming and cause considerable frustration for the user. Furthermore, there exists no guarantee that the user will locate the correct configuration data, which may lead to an inability of the peripheral device to connect with the IHS.
Current methods for alleviating the need for user interaction in configuring peripheral devices to the IHS all include placing special indicators on the peripheral device. For example, Microsoft Surface employs stick on dot patterns to recognize devices. As such, in order to be compatible with Microsoft Surface, the device must include a stick on dot pattern somewhere on its surface and is thus limited in this manner. Other methods use similar ideas but may instead employ radio tags and/or bar codes on the peripheral device.
Thus, a need exists for systems, and methods for automatically configuring a peripheral device with an IHS without having to place a specific indicator on the peripheral device.